InTheCloud
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Google trademarks Photovine, hints at new photo-sharing service
Well, it looks like Google's got the online rumor mill churning with its latest trademark application. Back on June 7th, El Goog filed a USPTO application for the name Photovine, sending sparks flying down the, er, grapevine about a possible photo-sharing program. The application cites a service dedicated to the "transmission of visual images and data by telecommunications networks, wireless communication networks, the Internet, information services networks and data networks." Unsurprisingly, it looks like the internet giant's also picked up the corresponding domain name. So is Google getting ready to add photo storage to its recent suite of cloud services? Or is it looking to up its social media cred? And where does Picasa fit into all of this? One things for certain: we won't be responsible for letting this round of speculation whither on the vine.
Apple's North Carolina data center to go live this spring
The cloud is the future, and the future appears to be arriving this spring, as Apple's North Carolina data center is finally due to go live, according to reports from today's Apple annual shareholder meeting. The phrase "in the cloud" refers to data hosted at off-site internet-accessible facilities rather than stored locally at a specific end-user machine, allowing you to do things like access photos, videos or music directly over the internet. No one outside of Apple knows exactly how the North Carolina center will be used, but rumors abound. Apple Insider writes that the massive facility may support enhanced iTunes and MobileMe services, perhaps providing the long-awaited iTunes cloud-based streaming so many analysts have been hoping for. Other speculated uses of the North Carolina data center include mobile iWork access and paid remote Time Machine hosting. Whatever it is, we'll likely find out soon after they start flipping switches in a few months.
